Knockdown reel

ABSTRACT

A knockdown reel for winding and unwinding strand material is formed in two interfitting parts. Each part includes a hollow cylindrical barrel segment having a radial head on its outer end. A plurality of radially spaced fingers are mounted on the inside of the barrel segment extending axially therefrom in a direction away from the head. The two barrel segments are interfittable with the fingers of each projecting into the other, and with the ends of the barrel segments abutting to form a continuous barrel. The two parts are maintained in their assembled condition by frictional engagement of the fingers with the barrel segment inner surfaces, by welding, or by means of an adhesive.

United States Patent 1191 Anderson July 3, 1973 [54] KNOCKDOWN REEL1,739,881 12 1929 Wermine 242/1 18.6 [76] Inventor: George C. Anderson,2425 SE.

Moores St., Portland, Oreg. 97202 Pnmary Exammer George MautzAttorney-Eugene D. Farley {22] Filed: Aug. 9, 1971 Appl. No.: 170,080

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 22,592,March 25, 1970, abandoned.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A knockdown reel for winding and unwinding strandmaterial is formed in two interfitting parts. Each part includes ahollow cylindrical barrel segment having a radial head on its outer end.A plurality of radially spaced fingers are mounted on the inside of thebarrel segment extending axially therefrom in a direction away from thehead' The two barrel segments are interfittable with the fingers of eachprojecting into the other, and with the ends of the barrel segmentsabutting to form a continuous barrel. The two parts are maintained intheir assembled condition by frictional engagement of the fingers withthe barrel segment inner surfaces, by welding, or by means of anadhesive.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented July 3, 1973 3,743,209

George C. Aficie rson BY INVENTOR KNOCKDOWN REEL This application is acontinuation-in-part of the patent application of George C. Anderson,Ser. No. 22,592, filed Mar. 25, 1970 for Knockdown Reel, now abandoned.

This invention relates to knockdown reels of the class employed forwinding and unwinding strand material, particularly wire, cord, string,tape, rope and the like.

In the flexible strand material industry, it is usual practice for themanufacturer of such materials to purchase reels or spools of varyingsize. The spools are placed on winding machines and the strand materialwound upon them. After having passed through the usual commercialchannels, the filled reels are employed as dispensing reels by theconsumer.

It is the general purpose of the present invention to provide a reel orspool suitable for the foregoing application which has the followingadvantages:

Inexpensively manufactured from molded plastic;

Manufactured in two identical parts which may be shipped and stored in aknockdown condition;

Readily assembled without loss of operators time at the reel-fillingstation;

Straight and true in the assembled condition;

In the assembled condition strong enough to resist effectively thetorque applied by winding machines;

Moldable from plastic without interfering ridges or creases;

Nestable and stackable for storage and transportation;

Readily produceable in various sizes and designs;

By the application of a simple insert, expandable to form a reel of adesired increased capacity.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of the invention areaccomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specification andclaims considered together with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a separated, perspective view of the reel of the invention,illustrating the manner of assembly of its two identical componentparts;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one of the component parts of the reel;and

FIG. 3 is a partial, separated view of a modified form of the reel whichincludes an optionally used insert for the purpose of increasing thecapacity of the reel to a desired value.

In its broad aspect, the knockdown reel of my invention comprises twointerfitting parts which may be identical and each of which comprises ahollow, cylindrical barrel segment and a plurality of radially spacedfingers. The barrel segment has a radial head on its outer end. Thefingers are mounted on the inside of the barrel segment and extendaxially therefrom in a direction away from the head. The two parts areinterfittable with the fingers of each projecting into the barrelsegment of the other. The two parts are held in their assembled relationby frictional engagement with the barrel segments, by the application ofadhesive, by welding, or by combinations of these methods. The reel thusmay be manufactured of molded plastic in two identical parts which maybe nested and stacked for transportation and storage, and'assembled atthe reel filling station.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particularreference to the drawings:

The knockdown reel of my invention includes two interfitting partsindicated generally at 10. These may be identical in dimensions andcontour. They may be made of any suitable structural material such asplastic, cardboard, wood or metal. Preferably they are made from moldedplastic. When this is the case, the identical construction of the twoparts is of significant advantage since it makes possible the use of asingle, relatively inexpensive, mold and molding machine.

Each reel part 10 basically comprises a barrel segment 12 and an outerhead 14.

The barrel segment normally constitutes half the overall width of thereel. It is hollow to provide an inner surface divided into twosections: an outer section 16 of enlarged internal diameter, and aninner section 18 of more restricted internal diameter.

Head 14 is arranged substantially at right angles to the axis of barrelsegment 12. It comprises a web 20 and an outer stiffening flange 22.Ribbing may be provided externally as required further to stifien andstrengthen the head construction.

Means are provided for interfitting the two parts of the reel. Suchmeans basically comprise fingers projecting axially from one part intothe hollow barrel segment of the other, thus enabling interfitting ofthe two parts.

To this end there are provided a plurality of fingers 24 preferably inthe form of flat fins arranged radially and spaced substantiallyequidistant from each other.

Fingers 24 outline a circle, the exterior diameter c of which issubstantially equal to, or slightly greater than, the inner diameter bof barrel section 18. This creates a frictional engagement between thesetwo elements when the two parts of the reel are interfitted.

However, the diameter c is somewhat less than the internal diameter a ofsection 16 of the barrel segment. This makes possible nesting of the tworeel parts in their knockdown storage and transportation condition.

To facilitate interfitting of the two reel parts, the outer leadingedges 26 of fins 24 are tapered or radiused so that the fingers may bereadily guided into and inserted into the barrel segments.

The finger assembly is strengthened and its frictional engagementaugmented by providing a central hollow core 28. This is coaxial withbarrel segment 12. it preferably has a length which is the same as thelength of section 18 of the latter. It serves several functions.

First, it serves as a support for the inner margins of fingers 24,thereby strengthening the assembly. Second, it serves as a stop for thefingers when the two reel parts are in their nesting, storage position.Third, it materially increases the frictional effect when the two reelparts are interfitted. This effect is augmented by forming the outersurface of core 28 with a slight taper and the lower inner margins offingers 24 straight, so that a wedge is created.

Provision is made for increasing the length of the barrel in order toincrease the capacity of the reel to a desired value. This isaccomplished by including in the reel assembly a reel expansion insertindicated generally at 30 of FIG. 3.-

Reel expansion insert 30 includes a hollow barrel segment 380, a hollowcore segment 28a, and a plurality of connecting fins or fingers 24a.

Barrel segment has the same outer diameter and the same inner diameterb" as do barrel segments 18 of which it is a continuation in theassembled condition of the reel. It has a length determined by thedesired capacity of the reel.

Core segment 280 has a diameter equal to that of core segments 28 ofwhich it is a continuation. Its length is preferably substantially equalto the length of barrel segment 18 with which it is concentric.

Fins or fingers 24a having radiused edges 26a are mounted between barrelsegment 18a and core segment 28a. They define a circle the diameter ofwhich is substantially equal to diameter c of FIG. 2. Their length issuch that they project axially outwardly from both ends of the insert bya distance substantially equal, on each side, to the extent ofprojection of fins 24 from barrel segment 18.

Thus in the use of the reel, fingers 24 may be inserted within section16 of the barrel to stack the reel parts during transportation andstorage. However, when it is desired to use the reel, the two parts arearranged facing each other and interfitted with the fingers of oneinserted inside the barrel of the other. The arrangement of thefingersrelative to the barrel makes this possible even though the two parts areidentical, i.e., no lefts or rights.

In the event that it is desired to increase the capacity of the reel, aninsert 30 of selected barrel length is interposed between the two reelparts with its fingers 24a interfitted with fingers 24 of the latter.

The parts then are pressed together, radiused comers 26, 26a guiding thefingers smoothly into the interior of the barrel segments. The outeredges of fingers 24, 24a frictionally engage the inner surfaces 18, 18aof the barrel segments while the inner edges of the fingers frictionallyengage the outer surfaces of core member 28, 28a. The friction thusgenerated may be sufficient to hold the parts together during thecontemplated use. However, if it is desired to strengthen the union ofthe two parts, this may be accomplished by gluing them together, byultrasonic sealing, or by welding.

The assembly of the parts requires but a moment and may be accomplishedby the operator at the reel winding station during the interval providedduring the winding of an assembled reel. In their assembled condition,the reel is straight and true so that it does not wobble on the windingand unwinding machinery. Its inner surfaces are free from projectionswhich might snag the strand material. Its strength is adequate towithstand the torque of the winding machinery even though the latter isapplied to one side only of the reel.

This strength is gained not only by the frictional and adhesive effects,but also by the fact that the fiat, finlike fingers 24 bear against eachother and reinforce each other, resisting the applied torque. All ofthese features are obtained, furthermore, by the provision of a reelwhich may be manufactured inexpensively in two identical parts bysimple-molding techniques.

Having thus described my invention in preferred embodiments, I claim:

1. A reel formed in two interfitting parts each comprising:

a. a hollow, cylindrical, barrel segment having inner and outer endsections,

b. a radial head on the outer end section of the barrel segment, and

c. a plurality of circumferentially spaced fingers mounted on the insideof the inner section of the barrel segment and having portions thereofprojecting axially from the inner end of the barrel segment, saidprojecting portions of the fingers outlining a circle,

d. the inner end section of the barrel segment having an internaldiameter less than the diameter of said outlining circle forfrictionally engaging the projecting portions of the fingers in theassembled use position of the reel, and the outer end section of thebarrel segment having an internal diameter greater than the diameter ofsaid outlining'circle for freely receiving the projecting portions ofthe fingers in the knockdown, nesting, storage position of the reel,

e. the two barrel segments being interfittable with the fingers of oneprojecting inside the other and the inner ends of the two barrelsegments in substantially abutting relationship to each other, therebyforming a continuous barrel in the assembled reel.

2. The reel of claim 1 including a third interfitting part comprising:

f. a third hollow, cylindrical barrel segment of predetermined length,and

g. a plurality of circumferentially spaced fingers mounted on the insideof the third barrel segment and having portions of said fingersextendingaxially from both ends of the third barrel segment, said projectingportions of the fingers outlining a circle having the same diameter asthe circle outlined by the first-narned projecting finger portions,

h. the projecting portions of the fingers of the third barrel segmentbeing interfittable with the fingers of the first-named barrel segmentswith the ends of all of the barrel segments in substantially abuttingrelation to each other.

3. The reel of claim 1 wherein the fingers comprise a plurality of flat,fin-like projections arranged radially and spaced substantiallyequidistant from each other.

4. The reel of claim 1 wherein the fingers comprise a plurality of flat,fin-like projections, the leading ends of which are tapered to formguiding surfaces facilitating the interfitting of the two parts in theassembly of the reel.

5. The reel of claim 1 wherein the two parts are identical in structureand dimensions.

6. The reel of claim 1 wherein the two parts comprise structurally anddimensionally identical parts of molded plastic.

7. The reel of claim 1 including a central core coaxial with the barrelsegment, the projecting fingers frictionally interengaging the innersurface of the inner section of the barrel segment and the outer surfaceof the core.

8. The knockdown reel of claim 7 wherein the outer peripheral surface ofthe core is tapered and the inner surfaces of the projecting portions ofthe fingers which engage it are planar, thereby increasing thefrictional engagement of these two elements when the two parts areassembled.

s s a e s

1. A reel formed in two interfitting parts each comprising: a. a hollow,cylindrical, barrel segment having inner and outer end sections, b. aradial head on the outer end section of the barrel segment, and c. aplurality of circumferentially spaced fingers mounted on the inside ofthe inner section of the barrel segment and having portions thereofprojecting axially from the inner end of the barrel segment, saidprojecting portions of the fingers outlining a circle, d. the inner endsection of the barrel segment having an internal diameter less than thediameter of said outlining circle for frictionally engaging theprojecting portions of the fingers in the assembled use position of thereel, and the outer end section of the barrel segment having an internaldiameter greater than the diameter of said outlining circle for freelyreceiving the projecting portions of the fingers in the knockdown,nesting, storage position of the reel, e. the two barrel segments beinginterfittable with the fingers of one projecting Inside the other andthe inner ends of the two barrel segments in substantially abuttingrelationship to each other, thereby forming a continuous barrel in theassembled reel.
 2. The reel of claim 1 including a third interfittingpart comprising: f. a third hollow, cylindrical barrel segment ofpredetermined length, and g. a plurality of circumferentially spacedfingers mounted on the inside of the third barrel segment and havingportions of said fingers extending axially from both ends of the thirdbarrel segment, said projecting portions of the fingers outlining acircle having the same diameter as the circle outlined by thefirst-named projecting finger portions, h. the projecting portions ofthe fingers of the third barrel segment being interfittable with thefingers of the first-named barrel segments with the ends of all of thebarrel segments in substantially abutting relation to each other.
 3. Thereel of claim 1 wherein the fingers comprise a plurality of flat,fin-like projections arranged radially and spaced substantiallyequidistant from each other.
 4. The reel of claim 1 wherein the fingerscomprise a plurality of flat, fin-like projections, the leading ends ofwhich are tapered to form guiding surfaces facilitating the interfittingof the two parts in the assembly of the reel.
 5. The reel of claim 1wherein the two parts are identical in structure and dimensions.
 6. Thereel of claim 1 wherein the two parts comprise structurally anddimensionally identical parts of molded plastic.
 7. The reel of claim 1including a central core coaxial with the barrel segment, the projectingfingers frictionally interengaging the inner surface of the innersection of the barrel segment and the outer surface of the core.
 8. Theknockdown reel of claim 7 wherein the outer peripheral surface of thecore is tapered and the inner surfaces of the projecting portions of thefingers which engage it are planar, thereby increasing the frictionalengagement of these two elements when the two parts are assembled.